A need exists in the home and in certain industries for a reclosable or reusable container having an air-tight closure seal and an attached means to allow the creation of a partial vacuum in the container after reclosing thereof with perishable contents inside. No prior art device to meet this particular need is known, and it is the object of the invention to satisfy the need in connection with several different forms of reclosable containers.
It is known in the prior art to provide a vacuum sealed container for foodstuffs or the like wherein the vacuum is lost when the container or package is initially opened and cannot be re-established due to the absence of any means which would allow this. A typical example of the prior art is the well-known evacuated can for ground coffee, in which the initial opening of the can destroys the vacuum and there is neither an evacuation valve or the like on the container or on its closure, nor any arrangement for rendering the lid or closure air-tight when reapplied to the container body. Similarly, with flexible type vacuum food packages, once the package is ruptured and the vacuum is lost, there is no way to restore it or to reuse the vacuum package. Such packages are not ordinarily of the reclosable type in any case.
Therefore, the essence of this invention provides in providing a reclosable and resealable container having a primary vacuum tight seal which may be re-established on each application of the container closure, and a convenient means such as a check valve on the container closure susceptible of use with a conventional vacuum pump to draw air from the closed container so as to establish a proper vacuum therein to meet the requirements for certain goods held in the container. A means is also provided to vent the vaccum prior to reopening the container. The invention finds utility in the home for cake boxes and the like, mason jars, and other reclosable containers. In the chemicals industry, for example, large or small reclosable vacuum tight containers can similarly be equipped with the invention with minimal expense and no interference with the normal use of the container in instances where evacuation is not needed.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.